The Budapest Wolves and the Zagreb Thunder have plenty of reasons to be upset about how the season played out, and some of them aren’t necessarily their fault. Being stuck in the same group with two of the most impressive teams in the league thus far is not an ideal situation, and the Wolves fell short in every important game, except the one in Novi Sad.

At 3-3, the Wolves are one loss away from being eliminated, and on the other hand, at 3-3, the Novi Sad Dukes are on top of any other team in the other group. Although it was clear from the start that the Wolves’ group would be the stronger one, the situation is not exactly what the league envisioned when the teams were realigned prior to the season start. Considering one group has three teams without a losing record, and the other has none, while the only team from the Wolves’ group that lost an inter-conference game is the winless Zagreb, the difference between the groups in the first 4 months of the season has been obvious.

Such a drastic difference might be unfair, but it still won’t resolve in any other way then on the field. The Wolves have been behind all season, and it all started with a convincing loss in the opening week, against the same opponent that has a chance to slam the door shut on their 2009 season. The Wolves travel to Hohenems on Sunday to play the Cineplexx Blue Devils, a team that beat them 7-39 in the opening game for both teams.

The fact that the Blue Devils beat them by 32 points means they’re an overwhelming favorite in this one, but after their game in Belgrade, no one can say they’re unbeatable any more. Of course, Belgrade is 6-0 for the season, and they still needed 2 overtimes to beat the Blue Devils, so a Wolves win, playing away, would be a huge surprise. That the Blue Devils are playing for the first time in the CEFL since their first loss doesn’t help the Wolves’ cause.

Still, they were in this situation once already, when they beat the Dukes in Novi Sad earlier in the year. When everyone thought they’d lose and be eliminated, they were tough as nails, winning 10-7. The Blue Devils are a much bigger challenge, probably, or even likely, one they won’t be able to overcome, but as long as there’s a chance, why not hope? After plenty of surprises in the first part of the season, maybe it wouldn’t even be so strange.